With the World Superbike season-opener now less than two weeks away, bad news looms for motorcycle race fans in the United States, as the SPEED Channel (now a part of FOX Sports), does not have a television contract to air WSBK and MotoGP for their 2013 seasons.

An issue that has been hanging in limbo since the start of the year, Superbike Planet yesterday suggested that American motorcycle racing fans could be without the World Superbike Championship on their televisions sets this year (we have heard similar murmurings regarding AMA Pro Racing as well).

Now today, Roadracing World confirmed with SPEED that the network still does not have any contracts with Dorna for the TV rights to WSBK and MotoGP. What’s worse, SPEED’s Vice President of Media Relations Erik Arneson gave no indication that the TV channel was any closer to finishing a deal with Dorna than it was earlier this year.

Though back in January Arneson was emphatic that SPEED would air the MotoGP Championship, the reading between the lines seems to suggest that World Superbike will not air on SPEED, and with the Qatar round rapid approaching, SPEED has less than two months to come to terms with Dorna over the MotoGP TV rights.

The only outlet for motorcycle fans on the small screen, SPEED’s lack of TV coverage for WSBK will be a blow to the series, which has struggled to break free of its Euro-centric calendar and following.

With MotoGP having three rounds this year in the United States, it seems unlikely that a contract will fail to materialize, but one has to wonder how serious the coverage will be from SPEED with an agreement taking this long to come together.

With US motorcycle fans already getting little more than the most bare-boned coverage of the premier motorcycle class on SPEED, it has hard to imagine how the TV network could water-down its coverage even further.

One thing is for certain though, what we will get will likely do nothing to help grow the sport in the North American market, and many die hard fans will have to resort to less-than-legal methods to get their racing fix on Sundays.

I’ve found that SPEED’s coverage was always terrible, and ended up watching the BBC’s coverage via “alternative” methods instead. You could also shell out 99.95€ ($134.36 USD) for motogp.com’s Full Season VideoPass, but I think that’s a bit expensive, in my opinion.

As for WSBK, I will probably try to catch some races via “alternative” methods as well. I’m not entirely certain of their offerings online though.

skidblam

Give me an online subscription option for WSBK and I’ll gladly pay $100/yr for it. Same for F1. Subscribing to motogp.com the last 3 years has been the best move ever (and that’s more like $130/yr). I can’t imagine going back to what SPEED calls coverage. With Dorna now in charge, maybe WSBK streaming will actually happen in our lifetime.

I only watched SPEED for WSBK and F1. It now looks like I can cancel that channel altogether – thank god. It’s not even worth the effort to complain about them any more. It’s over.

I just hope I don’t have to resort to bittorrent to see WSBK this year – such a PITA. It’s amazing we’re even having this discussion around access to media in this day and age. We’ve reverted to 1990.

Steve Zielenski

At least we wont have to suffer that insipid Greg Creamer with his 10 minute leadin, and 15 second “updates” coming back from commercial — all at the expense of missing the post race interviews. Will stream MGP and SBK from Eurosport. SPEED is a joke!

yooperbikemike

It’s a shame that it looks like SpeedTV won’t be broadcasting WSBK. Although, truth be told, I rarely watch it there, even though I prefer Martin/Green over Whitham/Burnicle. I’m one of those nuts who’s up at the crack ‘o’ dawn scanning the net for whatever sketchy low-res coverage in whatever language, as long as it’s in (relatively) real time.

Kevin

It’s a shame that Speed seems to be run by the same incompetent folks at Daytona Speedway. Perhaps all those dumb and dumber reruns on speed of idiots crashing is an example of where Speed TV is going? I’d suggest everyone pay the Dorna Video fee and shun Speed TV altogether. Not that I’m a fan of Dorna’s over restrictive rights management either.

Sad really that the U.S. pounds it’s chest as to how great we are when in reality we’re second class when it comes to all things racing, crap diesel, dumbed down versions of European engines for our shiit gas (diesel or petrol) and nothing but rednecks going in circles when it comes to racing. Sad, but predictable.

Yeah Speed, now go away. Quickly like your name suggests not slowly like you’re killing all forms of racing but moonshine runners, I mean nascar.

John

Speed’s coverage of these events has always been terrible. That being said, I will miss being able to watch morotcycle roadracing. Perhaps there is an outside chance that Discovery will fold motorbike racing into its Velocity channel. Seems to be a better fit to me…at least it ain’t NASCAR all the time. On a positive note, I won’t have to listen to Greg Creamer say Lorentho anymore, so there is a silver lining.

Faust

I seriously hate Speed’s coverage. Their AMA coverage is terrible, and I’ve seen several races where passes for the lead are happening while the announcer is talking about some stupid TV show instead of calling the race. I’ve also seen commercial breaks where a major overtake occurred during the break and they don’t even show a replay or really talk about it. They also make every attempt at ruining the US GP rounds with the most useless coverage ever. Like conducting interviews with people who nobody wants to hear from while the race is ongoing. That being said, is the alternative no coverage in the US at all? Really? I guess the average US viewer only cares about watching cars turn left for 3 hours at a time and motocross. This is really sad.

Corey S

I hope Velocity channel picks it up. It’s a much better channel than SPEED anway, unless you want NASCAR all day everday…

Reed Parker

Speed’s coverage of motorcycle racing is completely disgusting. The only series they cover with any respect is the Supercross series. I agree with other posters here. Speed cuts to commercial during the most insane of times, like when a battle for the lead is actually happening in MotoGp. Next, you have Greg Creamer doing his ridiculous play by play for 30 seconds after they come back from commercial. I know Greg has had many people hating on him for this and I did read an article where he tells that Speed MAKES him do that, but either way I originally developed my hated for Creamer before learning that.

This is the first year I am highly considering buying the MotoGp Season’s Pass. I hope that with Dorna governing both that a package may be offered and we could perhaps follow all of MotoGp and WSBK online, uninterrupted, and in HD…. because clearly North American television companies are never going to cater to anyone of us who happen to be interested in Motorcycles enough to be reading this ‘zine.

Honestly I could care less if the coverage is just the race itself. I just want it to tape on my DVR and have it be available to watch without dicking around trying to find it on some questionable website. Looks like the NBC Sports channel that F1 is on now is an extra cost channel on Time Warner. At least I’ve got Supercross!

George

Who cares…cable and satellite TV are so yesterday.

Ken

No real loss; just a little more leg work to set up a VPN to watch WSBK from Eurosport. I am already a motogp.com subscriber and love it. The inside word is AMA coverage is going to CBS which would be a much better time slot. In the end speed can fill their day with redneck tv and the benefits of oral hygiene.

John

I used to watch more of SPEED until they dropped the World Rally Championship coverage a few years back. I will still watch a Formula 1 race if I think of it, but dropping WRC seriously pissed me off.

I also hated all those stupid chopper build shows — I mean what the hell does that really have to do ‘Speed’? They should call that channel POSEUR really.

singletrack

Fear not… SpeedTV went down to the wire with AMA Supercross coverage. The broadcast schedule wasn’t confirmed till the week before the opening round. Now we have about 15 live rounds – 3 hrs every Sat. night. The rest next day delay on CBS.

Not bad at all.

Kevin

Velocity Channel? Heck, where I live velocity is airing animal shows and the “velocity” stuff has moved to a top tier pay scheme on DESTD.

dagoof

Speed does suck, but for me it’s the only game in town and was a least a little better than nothing. As Speed is an add on package to my cable, it will disappear off my cable bill if I can’t see bike racing on it. I really don’t care about detergent boxes going around in circles…

Tim

Speed does Supercross coverage the best, but even that is pretty bad for any racing outside the top 5-10. I can’t count how many times there have been unreal crashes/passes out in the corner of the screen but it doesn’t even get mentioned let alone replayed. Greg Creamer during the MotoGP coverage can be pretty painful. Everytime he says “Lorentho” I am tempted to pop my eardrums with a Q-Tip. If you think Speed’s F1 coverage is bad though you need to watch TSN in Canada.

Ahren

I live in tiny little Panama (1/5 the size of California) and I get all SBK/MotoGP races including practices and qualifying on TV. Also Speedway-BSB-Dakar-ASBK-FIM Motocross/enduro/trials and every good world 4wheel series. Be jealous.

I see this as a very good opportunity for NBC’s new sports channel. Hockey right into motorcycles.

Cannot stand Speed’s coverage, so this could be a win for all of us and the sport.

Ahren

I forgot to add, on Cable Onda and ESPN/FOX Sports Latin America.

yourmom

SPEED sucked anyways, we’re not missing anything….their indirect feed was rigged with stupid non-stop commercials and their commentary was some guy sitting in a booth in the US commentating on the feed. Eurosport is so much better.

L2C

Probably just like everybody else who subscribes to satellite or cable, I get three or four extra ESPN channels that broadcast absolutely nothing most of the time. 95% or more of the time those stations are parked and empty. ESPN could easily accommodate both WSBK and MotoGP on Sundays. It wouldn’t be a programming problem at all. But then, ESPN barely finds one or two inches of space on its website(s) to mention WSBK/MotoGP results…

It really is a pity that motorcycle racing is anathema to sports TV programming in the US. When I consider how phenomenal the coverage for tennis is, it’s clear that global sports coverage is possible here, and that stellar presentation of it is also possible. (Coverage is usually split between The Tennis Channel, ESPN and one of the other classic networks.) It’s just that people have their heads up their asses because they don’t want to take any risks — at the very least, that’s how it seems from the outside. They love and care for the cash cows that have already been established and that’s it.

Yet, what about the X Games? The X Games gets plenty of coverage on ABC and ESPN, so US audiences -notably young viewers- are entirely comfortably watching sports that push humans -young humans- to their limits. Because of this the argument cannot be made that the talent to take WSBK/MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 to a young audience doesn’t exist here. Of course the talent exists, but where are the A-list producers who would take this on? I can’t believe they haven’t tried. You know they have have tried, it’s impossible that they haven’t, but what sort of obstacles have they been up against? That’s the real question, the answer to which only an insider would know.

The SPEED Channel cannot ever have been the only option. This is obviously a ludicrous notion. It seems to me that until we get a Muhammad Ali or Tony Hawk or Michael Jordan or John McEnroe, i.e., their contemporary equivalents in WSBK/MotoGP – champion American athletes whose personas transcends motorcycle racing and lands squarely in the center of the realm of entertainment, US programmers simply won’t see the value of producing and presenting the sport. At least that’s how it seems from the outside.

I’m not an insider, but if I were, I’d be doing everything I could to bring WSBK/MotoGP to the mass of young viewers here in the US. It’s obvious to me that it would work. And considering the spike in motorcycle sales last year, that would be yet another selling point I’d use to get the job done. But the biggest factor that would practically guarantee the sell to the big US networks would be sports legends and sports legends in the making. We seriously need our own Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner – not just competent racers like Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies and Colin Edwards, we need those personalities too, but we really need those personalities who can not only kick ass racing motorcycles, but also turn it up to 11 in 15 second interviews and on late-night TV. They have to be cool and bad and hot, but also likable. They have to not mind appearing on kids TV shows every now and then. That’s what sells TV to young people in the US, and probably everywhere else in the world, but especially here.

The sports drink companies are already lined up. The motorcycle companies are already lined up. Local motorcycle dealerships are already lined up. Sports equipment companies are already lined up. Fast food franchises are already lined up. The owners of large theme parks are already lined up. Music programmers already have the tracks cued up. All of these essential players are just waiting for TV producers to sell to them, but none of this matters if producers cannot deliver young athletes who create impact wherever they go with whatever they say and do. Because those are the people who are going to sell all of the above.

For all of Valentino Rossi’s more than admirable abilities, he’s not the one selling the sport to American youths. He is immensely likable, controversial and polarizing, but despite his strengths the US market is entirely too much for him to bear. He’s practically the sole rider carrying Europe, the UK and Asia on his shoulders as it is. At this stage of his career, carrying the US is simply not an option.

Give Nike a reason to start making motorcycling apparel and footwear – not directly, indirectly. Give them a stellar American rider to put it on. Watch them get involved and then watch the coverage -print, radio, TV, Internet- of WSBK/MotoGP exceed all expectations.

Contrary to popular belief, someone approaching the significance of Valentino Rossi, who by all reasonable methods represents the benchmark by which all others are measured in the modern era, is not a once in a lifetime thing. The US has the ability to produce talent comparable to Rossi, Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo – we know this, but why do we not have a system that rivals the Europeans and especially Spain that produces world-class riders with attitude is anybody’s guess. Right now, who is our Marc Márquez? Hayden, Spies and Edwards -our best bets- can’t even afford to think about matching him on any level.

This is just an observation and a guess from the outside. I have no real answers, but someone does. Surely someone must.

CB

As a race fan and cable subscriber, it would be very disappointing to see Speed finally become NASCAR TV. Guess that is where Speed is finally headed (or is). Really need those three pre and post hous of race coverage specials to watch some dude hold a #3 sign in the background for days. NASCAR racing has become so boring. Car of Tomorrow killed NASCAR. Good thing Speed has all those reruns of rednecks gone wild to fill their calendar. Bad commentary and a lack of a full grid aside, I enjoyed catching the GP and WSBK races on Speed.

Trident

George – Sadly, people like me do. I live in an area that is not served by broadband internet.

RR

IIRC, Speed isn’t changing to NASCAR TV, which I could almost understand as it’s been headed that way for years…no, it’s changing to an all sports channel- base, foot and basketball with NASCAR still present. All the other racing series that they showed will be history.

Fox, Speed’s owners, could give a damn about motorsports. All they are concerned with is making as much $$ as they can with as little investment as possible.

I long for the days of SpeedVision where the people that ran it seemed to truly enjoy their programming.

meatspin

I used to catch WSBK at a friends house on sundays, but its not broadcast in HD, so it looks quite horrible. I dont watch enough tv to warrant the high cost of a cable package which has speed so its a no go there plus they have too much nascar on it. Plus, they do a butcher job on the motogp coverage not to mention the AMA racing.

the motogp seasons pass is tempting and something I would sub to, but I dont really want to watch the racing on my PC. I’m sure I can find a workaround to get it to the TV in the other room, but meh.

I really have to give a shoutout to Regenzy1 on TPB. I d/l the races with the eurosport coverage, and stream it to my xbox. It still puts me a day behind the actual race since it takes time to get around the intertubes. I know its illegal but I dont know what else to do.

Steve

Glad I found this article. I have been scrambling to find out if SPEED will show WSBK and MotoGP and here’s a (at least for now) a current answer.

I’m in no way a “hard-core” moto racing enthusiast, I’m probably more of a “casual” fan…heck, I hope I’m more than “casual” because I’m a Yank that follows an international series.

I’m not going to bash NASCAR, since I too, am a fan of it. Long story short, if it has a motor, wheels, wings, propellers, etc and it is in a contest against another machine, I’ll follow it. That said, I don’t know if I’d negatively call SPEED “NASCAR” TV. I’m actually more sickened by the fact that SPEED has become another cable TV wasteland of obnoxious “reality”/lifestyle programming with a few races on the weekend.

I see it has been mentioned that SPEED will be changing to an all-sports network a’la ESPN, which is a dammed shame. I suppose it’s fitting, after all we’ve watched SPEED slowly die for the last 12 years as FOX has branded it into a network in their “family”. I used to enjoy watching racing series from around the world, “classic” SPEED helped introduce me to DTM and V8 Supercars, along with WTCC, etc.

As I said, I’m no hard-core fan, so I’m not willing to spend the big bucks to watch the races via MotoGP’s $100 + stream. I hate to go the “shady” route and I hate torrents and things of that nature BUT it looks like I’ll have to if I want to see anything. I guess I’ll keep an eye on this article and see if any future posters have any suggestions for reliable, less shady streaming/alternative avenues to watch.

meatspin

i actually dont hate nascar. Hate is such a strong word, but i think the dislike of the series comes from the fact that it does tend to dominate the motorsport landscape here in the US.

I’m so tired of being screwed by the SPEED TV. The station’s inception was to cater to motorsport fans around the world, finally we have a channel where we could see everything we want to see, and it worked pretty good… for a while.

But in the age of corporate ownerships demands that revenue generation increase every year, race coverage of every kind, WRC, F1, Moto GP, Touring Car, FIA GT Series etc.,, (everything except fucking NASCAR) have all become afterthoughts. Now, like every other channel on cable, Speed’s top priority is their infomercial division, and running reruns of Pimp My Shit Box 24-7. If the show in question doesn’t generate a revenue stream from at least three sources minimum, or doesn’t have a connection to the parent company’s financial interests, then it might, it just might get an empty one hour slot around 1 AM, just before the five-hour infomercial Marathon begins. But no one will watch because it won’t appear in the guide until a few hours before it begins, and then the bean counters will claim that it’s not getting the required ratings to keep paying for it. Unbelievable!

This is why cable TV is going to go the way of the dinosaur in the not-too-distant future, because every channel will be continuously running commercial programming that absolutely no one is watching.

SPEED was the reason I started stealing cable in the first place, and I know many good people in the organization are still trying to give us the best race coverage possible, and I suppose we should be thankful that we get any motorcycle racing at all, even late-night. But come on, I go to all the trouble to steal the satellite codes, decrypt the signal, and pirate that shit out to 50,000 friends on the Internet, the least you can do is hold up your end. :)

Let’s just wait and see what Fuel TV shows. That is relaunching as Fox Sports 2 and it is said that motorsports programming will be moving there.

motogpdr

its nothing more than biz negotiations and posturing. Both parties taking it to the last minute to get best $$$$. Dorna isnt about to not have motogp and wsbk NOT broadcast in USA.

Westward

The MotoGP and WSBK website should stream the races and coverage in the US for free. It’s the only way to grow the sport in that region. It has the most potential to lure in casual passersby. Otherwise, one would have to have Cable first, then actually have that specific channel added to their package.

For MGP, they need to decide if their core product is Motorcycle Racing or web-streaming…

MotoBell

SPEED WILL HAVE MOTOGP.

I posted on their facebook page and here is the response I got:

“Moto Racing on SPEED We expect to have MotoGP (Moto2 and Moto3) on the network in 2013, possibly announcing a new multi-year deal shortly,” “And while communication remains open with Dorna regarding WSBK, there is no deal in place yet for 2013 2 hours ago · Like”

Knew this day would come that speed no longer televises all world motorsports – so how can we get WSBK in the US? I know of no streaming optiions…. btw last year I watched motogp on speed and also on motogp.com. motogp.com is worth it to wake up and watch on sunday versus wait and also see motor2 and moto3 righttaway or before the main event

RR

—- Westward says: February 14, 2013 at 8:24 AM

The MotoGP and WSBK website should stream the races and coverage in the US for free. ————————————-

They should do this.

A good percentage of network TV shows are putting last night’s episode of their shows online the next day (Colbert, The Daily Show, Conan, NBC shows, etc.) They throw a few commercials in here and there.

By doing this, they will prevent a good deal of torrent piracy. Most people just want to watch the show/race and only go the piracy route because there are no alternatives.

Throw in a couple commercials here and there during the broadcast and they make some advertising $$ as well.

L2C

The other day, I sent a MotoGP-branded clip of Catalunya 2009 (Rossi vs Lorenzo) to a friend of mine who has been riding motorcycles for at least the past 20 years. It was the first time he had ever seen anything MotoGP ever — and he loved it!

Want to know how popular MotoGP is in the States, consider that.

In order for MotoGP to make inroads in the US, it has to make a cheap deal with one of the classic “free” networks’ sports divisions. ABC, CBS, NBC… Or at least cut a cheap deal with smaller “free” networks that would like to offer live sports. There are many choices and they need to contract for at least a minimum of three years.

Trying to pierce the US market by demanding large sums of money up front – as if the sport is already as popular here as in Europe – is not going to work. Dorna basically has to play the loss-leader game. Loose lots of potential earnings the first few years in order to reap bigger rewards with bigger deals in the future. It pretty much is the only way forward – but again, marketable American talent on the bikes will help a great deal.

We all know that motorcycle racing is the real thing. It’s no different than mountaineering in what it demands of its sportsmen. That needs to be sold to American viewers, as well. But none of this matters if the series is being broadcast where virtually no one will happen to see it.

The fact that rookie Ana Carrasco -the only female rider on the Moto3 grid- is only 1.6 seconds off the tail of Maverick Viñales is something that could sell very well here in the states. I mean, she is serious business – the real deal! Too bad hardly anybody, not to mention young female athletes and sports fans, has ever heard of her stateside. Millions of American girls would look up to her. And plenty of guys would envy her.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Dorna, it is that the organization engages in wasteful management actions on a regular basis. So much potential -of just about EVERYTHING their series have to offer- just goes down the tubes, never seeing the light of day. Clearly this has to change.

L2C

@ Westward, RR

Yes, Dorna should be trying to give away MotoGP here in the US. It is exactly what they should be doing.

There’s nothing FREE about any broadcast network, CBS NBC ABC all choose their programming based on either advertising revenue, or the flavor of the month network executive who’s calling the shots, and wants to see his pet programming perpetuated in perpetuity.

None of those Classic networks would ever pick up motorcycle racing in today’s market because they can’t find any advertisers willing to pay them what they’re asking for the time, infomercials are a far more profitable and reliable source of income, so that’s what they broadcast.

I stopped watching most network television nearly 2 decades ago, aside from some sports broadcast, and I refuse to watch commercials… period. A whole generation of young people have made the same choice, so the old network business model is dying an ugly death, and cable providers are facing the same problem.

Why do y’all think motor racing of every type is going away? Perhaps the most overriding factor, is the global economic collapse, which has led to a disappearing middle class, which means a shrinking customer base for motorcycle purchases. The standard model for ultimately putting yourself out of business is to get an ever-increasing share of an ever shrinking market. Global motorcycle production, and everything that supports it, cannot rely upon a few million well-heeled buyers who can afford to buy a new bike every couple years, it needs an expanding middle class that creates enough new buyers with enough disposable income to purchase luxury items like motorcycles in growing numbers, and the numbers currently aren’t growing fast enough. It’s that simple.

So the advertising money to support motorcycle racing is quickly drying up, and if things don’t start going the other way within the next 5 to 10 years, motorcycle racing along with many other motorsports will continue their contraction, and at some point will go away altogether. It’s a vicious cycle, without viewers, there is no money, and without money there are no viewers. We’ve already seen bankruptcies in the motorcycle business, and I imagine were going to see more. They won’t go away entirely, because they’re small enough that any major global conglomerate can buy them up in hopes of reviving them.

And therein lies a huge part of the problem, major corporations and the wealthy individuals who own them siphoning off an inordinately disproportionate share of income. Tens of trillions of dollars hoarded away in banks in Monaco, the Caymans, Isle of Man, Switzerland etc., doing nothing, buying nothing, investing in nothing except schemes to increase that wealth at everyone else’s expense. This has all happened before numerous times in history, and it invariably ends the same way, see 1789.

But of course human beings never learn from history. Some people think that rewriting high school textbooks in Texas, is the same as changing history, it’s not. This is the problem when people who are really just lucky, start believing that the wealth they have is a result of them being smart and somehow special, better than other people, that everyone around them is just looking to take what they’ve got. People like that are currently in the process of trying to kill the United States of America, and they’re too stupid, stubborn and fearful to even recognize that what they’re doing is the very thing that will create what they fear most.

At the moment there seems to be enough wealthy interests willing to keep pumping money into racing to keep it afloat, but if the global economy should take another major downturn, that could all end very quickly.

The primary problem remains shrinking incomes and the loss of gainful secure employment for the majority of people on earth, and if that trend continues, a whole lot of fun things will disappear. But I assure you that will be the least of our problems.

L2C

@ Aaron B. Brown

I know what “free” means to the networks – but “free” to viewers still means that they don’t have to pay money for it.

L2C

@ Aaron B. Brown

I know what “free” means to the networks – but “free” to viewers still means that they don’t have to pay money for it.

Think about how I applied the word and then think about what Dorna would need to do in order for the networks to bite. Dorna would essentially have the give the series away for a few seasons so that any given US network would be able to test the series with viewers and advertisers, and grow the audience. Dorna wouldn’t make any money off it. No, they would lose money in the sense that they have an idea about the actual value of the series – however, they wouldn’t make less money than they are making now. The US networks would sell advertising on the cheap, so that they could make something towards covering expenses. Yes, the US networks would lose money too, but then they would also be betting on the future just as Dorna would be.

This needs to happen. At least, I can’t think of any alternatives. Maybe some bright, young mind who eats and breathes this stuff can?

GeddyT

Can this be anything but a good thing? SPEED’s coverage of motorcycle racing is so bad that it’s a net negative, if you ask me. If I were stumbling upon MotoGP or WSBK racing for the first time while flipping through the channels and landing on SPEED, I’d be gone the first time it cut to commercial. The time slots weren’t exactly flattering or timely, either.

It was my understanding that the only reason the US was locked out of WSBK’s website coverage was that SPEED had an exclusive contract to broadcast the races in the US. As a result, I haven’t watched a WSBK race other than a few crappy torrents I’ve found over the years.

So two hopes: 1.) If SPEED indeed doesn’t renew, my hope is that this paves the way for online streaming of races direct from the source. I don’t even mind paying in order to get all the racing, practice, and coverage commercial free like I do with MotoGP.

2.) I’ve been a motogp.com subscriber for as long as I’ve been a MotoGP fan. I agree with some that the price is a bit steep. That being said, if you can afford it, it’s the only way to go. I’d pay that kind of money for their quality of coverage any day. Sadly, I think this pricing is killing them in the exponentially expanding emerging markets that they’re trying so hard to enter, but that’s another story. I also think Dorna couldn’t be stupider about their policy toward the free marketing that is YouTube and the like. Were I Dorna, I’d charge a more reasonable amount for the live races in high def, I’d make all races available for free after the completion of the following race, and not only would I allow highlights and whatnot on YouTube, but I’d put them there myself!

Anyway… My second hope is that, now that Dorna owns the rights to both MotoGP and WSBK, WSBK gets the MotoGP treatment on the web as far as coverage goes. I also hope that Dorna steps up the technical production aspect when it comes to filming the WSBK races themselves. (Just watch Laguna-Seca last year. Wasn’t even a really exciting race, but it was an AWESOME sight to behold with all of the helicopter and crane shots! The production of that race was the best I’ve ever seen, whereas usually WSBK races are filmed from vantage points and angles that somehow manage to make the bikes looks slow and dull.)

Ultimately, what I’m hoping happens is that Dorna starts selling WSBK/MotoGP combo packages that will allow me to follow both series in the same way that I can follow MotoGP now. And if they were smart, they’d price it for not much more than the existing MotoGP package alone. But I doubt that would happen… Either way, I’d be all over a series combo deal like stink on SPEED!

Moto bell

Agree with GEDDYT.

ANYONE KNOW OF ASOLUTION TO STREAM WSBK?

Westward

I travel quite a bit, the only way I am able to watch Wsbk or Motogp is via pirate streaming sites and torrents. For the price I pay to attend the GPs I don’t feel it’s stealing, most major station stream their programming after the original has aired. Dorna should get with the program…

What’s the point of having a great sport if no one can watch it. All the major sports benefitted in growing their fan base by airing the games via television for free to the viewers. I can walk into almost any establishment and watch a playoff game of some sort, even bowling For Fcuk Sake.

Can you get Eurosport TV streamed in the USA? I assume not except via a VPN. So second, can you get Eurosport on satellite or cable? WTF, not? And third, why isn’t there a market for a Eurosport clone in the USA? If Speed are screwing up, doesn’t that just mean there’s room for a Speed competitor?

1000 channels and nothing on. Or at least no M/C racing on.

L2C

@ Julian Bond

We have BBC America cable and satellite options, but the channel doesn’t cover sports.

Looking at the Eurosport site, their online player is Europe only. So I have to admit a certain wry smile about this after enduring so many, many services on the net that are US only. I mention Eurosport because it’s by far the best coverage with the best commentators. Better than the BBC, better than the MotoGP site.

Ultimately this is Dorna’s problem now, since their job is to promote both series worldwide. If they can’t do a deal with Speed, they should do a deal with somebody else AND provide an online stream. Speed’s coverage of MotoGP, Moto2(250), Moto3(125), WSB, WSS, (and BSB?) has been pathetic for decades now so they should have lost the contract years ago. The big question though is, if not Speed, then who? If there’s nothing like an ESPN Motors 3 channel, maybe Dorna should just give up and make it online only with both real time and catch up, either free with adverts or for a sub.

Ahren

Even though we have TV coverage down here, I download Eurosport for every race.

I have spent a ton of money over the last 30 years, attending GP events – MotoGP.com subscriptions – licensed merchandise – cable TV specific packages with shitty coverage…..enough.

Fuck Speed, fuck the manufactures and Fuck Dorna especially. You would think that because the great USofA is the most profitable country for moto sales, and with three races in the US this year, Dorna and the manufactures would be exploiting the hell out of it given the current economic situation.

I’m willing to pay, but if they’re not willing to make an effort, why the hell should I?

MotoGP subscription is totally worth it. Been getting it the last 3 years, before that I suffered through the SPEED coverage. I’m really hoping with DORNA now running WSBK, that we get the option to stream that too.

I’m seeing on the AMA site now that it’s listing SPEED for all the races. I hate their coverage, but who else is going to show AMA (which is actually great racing!)?

mark

I’m not at all surprised that speedtv can’t commit to any motorcycle races, be it motogp or wsbk. These are foreign outsider interest and their fear of anything not american is comical. Oh those por inbreds.

keela

I am honestly dumbfounded! How can speed (supposedly a motorsports channel) not be covering the most exciting racing on the planet. I got my first nonibasic tv package for Speedvision. Those people should start their own channel again and put fox’s speed out of business. What a joke! I knew FOX was going to ruin this channel….it didn’t take them long. I am disgusted. Now I have to figure out a way to watch the races. PLEASE someone…any channel PICK UP WSBK and MotoGP!!!!!!

SBKer

WSBK is on TV. It is on the beinsport channel. In NYC I had to add a sport package to my subscription at about $8.00 a month. I can cancel it at the season end and renew next season. I like being able to DVR it. Beinsport’s coverage is good with no commercials during the race (at least at the Phillip Island race). The channel has a lot of soccer so if you are a fan of that it is a two-fer. Lets see what happens with MotoGP…..

Who are the commentators on BeIN? Are they taking the Eurosport Burnicle and Whitham show, Dorna’s flunkies or their own?

RWest

Well thanks to fox coverage to the first motogp race of 2015, where I was fortunate enough to see the last six laps of the race. First it was speed coverage of motogp which was useless and when they can’t speak English properly or pronunciation words or name properly. This time fox screws up with the coverage. (Useless Americans). Just leave it to the bbc sports to do the job please and don’t even speak. Is there no professional company in the western side of the world that can do proper sport coverage???? Where can a person find proper coverage of wsbk and moto gp? Please help!!!!